It's never too late...to be a late bloomer

"Our society is relentlessly focused on early success..." (Wrote David Brooks in The Atlantic.)

Photo by the blowup on Unsplash

Paul Cezanne. Julia Child. Morgan Freeman. Alfred Hitchcock.

While I would never put myself into the same category of these brilliant achievers, I have something in common with them: I, too, am a late bloomer.

I earned my master’s degree when I was 50 years old. From there, I carved out a freelance writing career, my “third act,” which carries me through to today.

I didn’t exactly know what I wanted to do before that. Life got in the way of my clarity and ambition. Marriage, children, and health challenges left me with little focus or energy to take a bite - really, not even a mere taste - of anything that required a good deal of focus and commitment. It simply was not “my time.”

And for so many of us, I think that’s what happens when we’re young. Is it really true that life is what happens to you when you’re making other plans? Or is it the other way around…other plans happen to you when you’re busy making life?

It can be befuddling, sometimes, don’t you think?

Sure, there are the Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerbergs, Elon Musks, Taylor Swifts, Michael Jordans of the world who zoom to early and intense success. It’s impressive and at the same time, mind-boggling.

I love this statement David Brooks made in his article:

“But for many people, the talents that bloom later in life are more consequential than the ones that bloom early.”

He goes on to point out that on average, Nobel Prize winners made their crucial discoveries at the age of - get this! - 44.

I wish I could link to Brooks’ story in the Atlantic, but you have to be a subscriber to access it.

And so, I’ll share some other nuggets that stood out to me. As I read them, I silently nodded in agreement (yes! that’s me! guilty!). Maybe you’ll find a bit of yourself in here, too:

• Most late bloomers endure a brutal wandering period, as they cast about for a vocation.

• They have a “high need for cognition” - they like to think a lot.

• Since they are freer from ties and associations than the early achiever, late bloomers can also change their mind and update their models without worrying about betraying any professional norms.

I was recently interviewed by Belle Curve Stories, a Substack publication that shares stories of women “celebrating life with grit, grace and growth.” To them, I say, thank you for sharing my journey. And to you, I say, feel free to read it and find out a bit more about what brings me here to you today!

And one more message, if you’ll indulge me. I know most of you who read thePause are “older” women. PLEASE don’t equate “older” with an inability to learn new things, take risks, try something you’d never considered, or follow your dreams. We are still capable of the journey!

Until next time…thanks for being here, and stay well! xoSheryl

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